This invention relates generally to the field of measuring the amount of fuel in a tank. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring and monitoring via a system website the volume of fuel in an irregularly shaped tank.
Previously proposed systems have used pressure based level sensors. These systems measure the weight of the oil in the tank and inaccuracies in the measurements are introduced because different grades of oil have different densities. For example, the density of No. 6 oil varies significantly among lots requiring the re-calibration of these systems after each oil delivery.
Further, previously proposed systems have handled the conversion from fuel level measurements to fuel volume using a standard look-up table based on the ideal geometry of the tank.
A problem with these previously proposed systems is that the actual geometry of the tank varies significantly because its dimensions are not generally held to tight tolerances. Further, many fuel tanks are buried in the ground or installed in places that make it impossible to measure the actual shape of the tank.